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Monthly Archives: May 2015

More thoughts, submitted on an occasional basis by our Guest Blogger: Jack Diamond.

It’s (nearly) holiday time

Well, the holiday season is nearly upon us (unless, of course, you’re reading this in the southern hemisphere when it’s almost winter – bad luck!) and our thoughts turn to those annual two weeks in the sun, maybe in a foreign land.

Before you go, perhaps it might be wise to give a bit of thought to what your expectations are. I say this only because I came across the following article in the Toronto Star recently in which a couple of tour operators list some of the more ridiculous complaints they receive from their customers.

“We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”

“The beach was too sandy.”

“No one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”

“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England, it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”

It obviously takes a certain type of person to complain about the fish in the sea or the sand on the beach, but what is more worrying is that these people are actually allowed to roam loose on the streets!

Or, perhaps, it’s down to the compensation culture which is so prevalent these days? People will complain about absolutely anything in the hope of getting something for free. But, fish in the sea and too many Spaniards in Spain? Really?

Might I suggest IQ tests before people are allowed to book a holiday. Just a suggestion.

Thanks for reading.

Jack Diamond

(The views expressed in our Guest Blogs are personal opinions only and do not reflect the views of PCGraphics.)

Well, that’s the election out of the way here in the UK. The next thing on the agenda will be the referendum we’ve been promised, which will decide whether we stay in the European Union (EU) or not.

There’s a lot of opinions about this out there in the media and they’ll be a hell of a lot more before the referendum actually comes around.

But what’s the answer? Should we stay in or leave?

Well, I can’t tell you the answer, probably no-one can, because no-one knows all the effects of the UK leaving. And we don’t know what’s in the future for us if we stay in either.

I can tell you something though which would possibly satisfy those on either side of the argument, although it will probably never, ever happen.

My suggestion is this. That we revert the EU from its current state back to what is was originally when the UK joined.

It was known as the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market then and, to be fair, we (the people of the UK) have never been consulted on whether we wanted everything which came afterwards. We voted to join a Common Market NOT a United States of Europe.

I’d actually wager that it’s only a very small proportion of the population right across Europe who actually want a United States of Europe i.e. complete political and fiscal union. Most would welcome close ties between the countries on a commercial level. And that was the idea of the Common Market.

So, perhaps we should be campaigning for a Common Market and not an in/out referendum on an EU Super State? Good for business, good for jobs and therefore good for people too. Not so good, however, for all those bureaucrats in Brussels. But maybe, just maybe, we should put our own people and countries first before letting some nameless, faceless people decide things for us.

A Common Market NOT a United States of Europe. It can’t be that difficult, can it?

Thanks for reading,

Jack Diamond

(The views expressed in our Guest Blogs are personal opinions only and do not reflect the views of PCGraphics.)

Phase 2 of the Nottingham Trams network – the extension of the tram lines to Chilwell and Clifton – is due to be completed in summer 2015. PCGraphics are proud to have been awarded the contract for producing the mapping for this project.

Several years ago we created the mapping for the original routes (you can see some samples on our website here) and we were very pleased when Tramlink Nottingham asked us to produce the new maps.

Each of the maps show an area covering 5 minutes walking time from every tram stop. In total we’ve created 50 maps – 27 new maps this time plus revisions to the original 23 maps.

All 50 maps are based on Ordnance Survey data and were created in the graphics programme Illustrator.

Despite a tight schedule, all the maps were supplied on time and within budget, something which we pride ourselves upon.

Many of the existing 23 tram stop maps can be seen on our Pinterest Board here.

Below, we’re pleased to preview 4 of the new maps produced for Tramlink Nottingham. Click on any of the images to view a larger version.

Visit the Nottingham Trams website for more information concerning the tramlines.

Details about the construction of Phase 2 of the tram service can be found here.